Propulsion means



NOV. 13, 1934. w R, MOBLEY v 1,980,925

PROPULS ION MEANS Filed April 16, 1931 IlllllliIiilii III I Patented Nov. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES 1,980,925 PROPULSION MEANS William R. Mobley, Miami, Fla.

Application April 16, 1931, Serial No. 530,641

4 Claims.

My present invention has relation to the propeller described and claimed in my application Serial No. 522,043, filed Mar. 12, 1931, acting upon the principle of drawing the air rearward from in front of the object to be propelled, and driving said air with great velocity in all radial directions from the axis of the propeller and from in front of the propelled parts, and preventing the rearward movement of said air, or the greater part thereof. This results in the formation of a vacuum or partial vacuum at the front of the propeller and at the front of the means or shield which prevent or control the rearward movement ,of the air, leaving the front of said controlling means or shield substantially free from pressure and leaving the rear of said shield exposed to full atmospheric pressure, and at the same time relieving the propelled object to a large extent and as completely as possible from the retarding efi'ect of a rearwardly moving body of air acting on all sides of said object. In this manner the object is propelled more easily and to the best advantage, with less propeller dimensions and ex- ,penditure of power relative to the speed attained. 2 In order to make the invention more clearly understood I have shown in the accompanying drawing means for carrying the same into practical effect, without limiting the invention, in its useful applications, to the particular construc- 3 tion shown in said drawing.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a propeller mechanism embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates the propeller shaft having cast therewith, in aluminum or other suitable metal, radial blades 2. Cast with said shaft and blades are wings 3 extending laterally from the blades and at an angle to said shaft. Looking at the front of the propeller and considering the same to rotate in a clockwise direction, the blades will have the inclination illustrated, the wings on one side of the propeller having an opposite inclination to the wings on the other side. At the rear of the propeller is arranged a shield 4 provided with bearings 5 for the shaft 1, the shaft being held from endwise movement in said shield by collars 6 fixed to the shaft. Said shield is provided at opposite sides with trunnions 7 by which the propeller and shield are supported in bearings 8 or any suitable support, form or stand 9, and which provide a transverse trunnion on which said parts may be inclined in vertical planes.

The shield 4 may be of about the same diameter as the propeller, although there may be variation in this respect. In the drawing the blades 2 extend out a little beyond the circumference of the shield and project a little past the shield so as to form blade extensions 10.

It will be understood that the blades 2 may be suitably attached to the shaft 1 so as to be renewable in case of damage, and the wings 3 may be similarly attached to the blades.

The shield 4 may be in the form of a fiat plate.

The herein-described propeller comprises, with the substantially radial blades, wings extending laterally from said blades, and acting to engage the air at or near the rear side of the propeller and ma manner scoop and propel the air away from the rear shield and acting to divert the said 7 air towards the desired centrifugal or radial direction and course, thereby relieving the front of said shield of rearward pressure and tending to produce a vacuum or partial vacuum at the front side and interior of said shield into which vacuum the vehicle or object is easily propelled. so

The forward surfaces of said wings, that is to say the surfaces which have the said air engaging and propelling effect, are indicated at LL, and the wings are suitably inclined relative to the axis of the propeller in one direction or the other (according to the direction of rotation of the propeller as a whole, whether clockwise or anticlockwise) substantially as illustrated.

The present invention contemplates, in one form of the same, making the propeller of greater diameter than the shield, and the extremities of the blades 2 are extended rearwardly, as at 10, to such distance as may be found most desirable, for the purpose of diverting to the desired radial direction air that tends to pass rearwardly at the outer margin of the shield.

It will be understood that the construction of the propeller as to dimensions, shapes of blades and wings and inclinations of the same, is capable of various modifications within the spirit of my invention.

My improved propeller is intended for use with air, water and land vehicles.

What is claimed is:

1. In a propeller, the combination of blades substantially radial from the axis of the propeller, a shield controlling the rearward movement of the air which is propelled radially by the blades, and wings extending from the air-propelling faces 0 of the blades and arranged at an angle to the axis of the propeller.

2. In a propeller, the combination of blades substantially radial from the axis of the propeller, a shield controlling the rearward movement of the air which is propelled radially by the blades, and wings extending from the air-propelling faces of the blades and arranged at an angle to the axis of the propeller, said blades having rearward extensions which project beyond the front of the shield.

3. In a propeller, the combination of blades substantially radial from the axis of the propeller, a shield controlling the rearward movement of the air which is propelled radially by the blades,

and wings extending from the air-propelling faces of the blades and arranged at an angle to the axis of the propeller, said shield being in the form of a hollow cylinder closed at its rear end and having its open end near said blades.

4. In a propeller, the combination of a substantially horizontal shaft, blades secured thereto and extending outwardly therefrom so as to propel air away from said shaft, a shield around said shaft at the rear of said blades, and wings on the sides of said blades, said shield having means whereby it and said shaft are pivotally mounted on a trunnion transverse to said shaft.

WILLIAM R. MOBLEY. 

